My Signature.
Active or PAssive Pickups
How would I know if I have active or passive pickups. Also, which do you prefer??
# 1
True enough - I have not yet found any active systems on electric guitars that I felt were better. Actually, to my ears, none of them sound as good as the passive pickups.
On electric/acoustic guitars, the story is a little different. These pickups are usually built into the bridge saddles, which gives them a tendency to be very harsh and jangly. Think Takamine. The problem is that anything else, like a built-in microphone, leaves you exposed to a high risk of feedback from the nearest monitor speaker. Newer active transducer setups are better than the early Takamine rigs that make me wince, but it's hard to get a good sound. They're only acceptable because anything else usually sounds even worse.
The best active 'acoustic' guitar I've ever heard, (and to this day, I regret not buying one), was a solid-body slab made by Cort. It was definitely [u]not[/u] acoustic, but when it was plugged into a good, clean amp, it sure sounded fine!
On electric/acoustic guitars, the story is a little different. These pickups are usually built into the bridge saddles, which gives them a tendency to be very harsh and jangly. Think Takamine. The problem is that anything else, like a built-in microphone, leaves you exposed to a high risk of feedback from the nearest monitor speaker. Newer active transducer setups are better than the early Takamine rigs that make me wince, but it's hard to get a good sound. They're only acceptable because anything else usually sounds even worse.
The best active 'acoustic' guitar I've ever heard, (and to this day, I regret not buying one), was a solid-body slab made by Cort. It was definitely [u]not[/u] acoustic, but when it was plugged into a good, clean amp, it sure sounded fine!
# 2
I’ve been playing for over twenty years and have had just about every configuration of guitar pickups imaginable. I even had a Kramer Pacer Imperial with an EMG81 (active) in the bridge and a Dimarzio PAF Pro (passive) in the neck which I was told was not possible.
Anyway, I’ll never have another active pickup in any of my guitars. At first I thought they were great but over time I began to notice that something was missing and that they sounded sterile. I have decided that passive pickups seem to deliver more tone for my taste. I have been putting Dimarzio Evolutions in most of my guitars lately but am also very fond of the pickups in my Wolfgang. I wish I could get one of those for my Jem to see how it matched.
Anyway, I’ll never have another active pickup in any of my guitars. At first I thought they were great but over time I began to notice that something was missing and that they sounded sterile. I have decided that passive pickups seem to deliver more tone for my taste. I have been putting Dimarzio Evolutions in most of my guitars lately but am also very fond of the pickups in my Wolfgang. I wish I could get one of those for my Jem to see how it matched.
# 3
